Luke mentioned, after reading the resolution post, that not everyone knows the meaning of a 365. It’s like my journalism days when I would throw out jargon and acronyms, expecting everyone to know what I meant by bottom of the clock and FTR.
“I only know cause I live with you,” he pointed out.
Some could be wondering whether I actually meant a 360 and just forgot that going full circle means you have to stop five degrees earlier. You know me. Always taking things one step further. I’m not sure what a 360 project would look even like. Doing a complete turn around doesn’t sound very New Years resolutiony. You’d end up right where you started.
A 365 is a photography project during which you commit to taking and editing one photo every day for a year. That’s the basic premise but, as the participant, you get to make the rules.
Here are mine:
1. Photo has to be taken on the DLSR. As in, on a camera that doesn’t also double as a phone and a thumb exercising device. If I happen to come into ownership of a lovely little mirrorless at some point throughout the course of the year, photos off it will also count. (Ahem. Cough. HINT. I hear Sonys are good.)
2. I can only pick one photo to be the photo of the day. Some days this will be easy (yesterday). Other days, it will be hard (today).
3. I have to post it. Some people do 365s but don’t post any of the photos. Social media isn’t everyone’s bag. I grapple with the role it plays in my life, sometimes due to a perceived social pressure to rise above, but I’m coming to the conclusion that we all don’t have to be on the same page about it.
I’ve been thinking about doing one of these for a while. My Rebel Tendency even considered starting one at the end of November. You know, just to be different. It’s still a 365 if it’s from November 23rd to November 23rd. But then I remembered Christmas and I decided to be conformist and less confusing.
Of course, this year it’s technically a 366. Leave it to me to start a daunting project in a year that requires a whole extra day of commitment and creative inspiration. A WHOLE DAY. It might just break me, folks. Only time will tell.
When I first started, I told the kids there would be days when I might need their help. I promised to not to make it too cumbersome for them. No one wants to be ripped away from their art project to go stand beside a window in a fleeting beam of light. Similarly, no one wants to stand outside in -20˚C while their mom fiddles with ISO. I’m trying to abide by photographer Summer Murdock’s rules of engagement: five minutes max and if you don’t get the shot you want, tough bananas.
To my joy and amazement, the kids have been wonderfully supportive. I took the camera to school pick-up today, with the big 100mm macro lens attached. It is decidedly conspicuous in this state, even amidst all the other bulk of winter. I snapped some photos of my eldest and her friends in their classroom to warm myself up. The other girls giggled and asked what on earth was going on.
“Oh it’s just my mom doing her project,” she offered, as if it’s not weird to have your mom show up after school to point a giant camera in your face.
In my defence, I was bordering on desperation. We are in the dead of winter, in a city where the sun rises after school starts and sets by the time we get home. If you’re wondering, we live in Canada, not Siberia, though incidentally, it is currently the same balmy -16˚C there as it is here. What’s more, our house has horrible lighting for indoor photography. Not wanting to leave things to chance and the harsh shadows of pot lighting, I took the project to school.
I’m quickly realizing, if this 366 and I are going to get along, I’m going to have to start thinking outside the box. Fast. I can see myself experimenting with new (to me) techniques and edgy editing styles and I can’t wait. Heck, I even took a selfie on Sunday. Unheard of!
I take comfort in the knowledge that I’ve always been good at deadline-associated inspiration. Kind of like MacGyver was always good with paper clips. My mind works best when I’m 1000ft. from the ground with a chute that won’t open. So, while I may be only nine days in and already struggling to see how I can make a year of engaging and non-repetitive photos, I also trust that, somehow, every day, I’ll manage to come up with something.